California / Forestry and Fire Protection

Agency file

Forestry and Fire Protection

Source file: California — State Employee Compensation (SCO Payroll Data Warehouse, CPRA) / ingested Jul 4, 2026

The Forestry and Fire Protection provides fire protection and emergency response, including prevention, inspection, rescue, and medical aid.

In 2025, this agency had 13,250 employees with median total compensation of $111,787; the highest distinct record was $758,255.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $1.6B
Employees: 13,250
Median total: $111,787
Highest record: $758,255

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

-$17,871$275,989+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 13,250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($111,787) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $67,565 (56%)
Overtime — $29,078 (24%)
Other — $24,792 (20%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$44,634

$77,363

$111,787

$162,642

$207,686

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $207,686 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $44,634. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Fire Fighter I

3,835 · $84,139

Fire Captain

2,312 · $178,347

Fire Apparatus Engineer

1,952 · $129,762

Battalion Chief

549 · $207,553

Fire Fighter II

418 · $114,080

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 3 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2023	$1.2B —	12,957 —	$81,412 —
2024	$1.4B ▲ 13.9%	12,674 ▼ 2.2%	$100,761 ▲ 23.8%
2025	$1.6B ▲ 13.6%	13,250 ▲ 4.5%	$111,787 ▲ 10.9%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Fire City of Greensboro80% match
Boston Fire Department City of Boston79% match
Cfd Operations City of Charlotte78% match
Fir Usd Fire Operations Metro Nashville76% match
Fire City of San Jose64% match
Fire Department Los Angeles County62% match

Record list

Employees

Page 11

Sims Hawkins

Assistant Chief/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$264,255

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $180,709
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $83,546
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $264,255
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: S08
Work county: Sacramento
Middle name: M

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $13,674
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5425221039002
Salary Total: $15,443
Total Pay: $264,255

Sims Hawkins works as a Assistant Chief for Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. Sims earned $264,255 in 2025. Union affiliation: S08.

Michael Reimer

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$264,215

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $91,863
Overtime: $136,272
Other pay: $36,080
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $264,215
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Tulare
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,694
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5424161095533
Salary Total: $7,652
Total Pay: $264,215

At Forestry and Fire Protection, Michael Reimer serves as a Fire Captain within Forestry. They work full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $264,215. Their bargaining unit is R08.

Mario Westbrook

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$264,051

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $110,077
Overtime: $111,175
Other pay: $42,798
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $264,051
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Riverside
Middle name: E

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $8,483
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423381095132
Salary Total: $9,184
Total Pay: $264,051

Mario Westbrook works as a Fire Captain for Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. Mario earned $264,051 in 2025. Union affiliation: R08.

Kyle Holtan

Fire Captain/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$263,923

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $91,863
Overtime: $133,313
Other pay: $38,746
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $263,923
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: San Bernardino
Middle name: D

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $7,694
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423131095544
Salary Total: $7,652
Total Pay: $263,923

Kyle Holtan holds the role of Fire Captain at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $263,923. They are represented by R08.

Daniel Dresselhaus

Forester II (Supervisory)/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$263,918

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $169,093
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $94,824
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $263,918
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: S08
Work county: Shasta
Middle name: W

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $12,226
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5422131042023
Salary Total: $14,383
Total Pay: $263,918

Daniel Dresselhaus holds the role of Forester II (Supervisory) at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. Their status is full-time. In 2025, their total compensation was $263,918. They are represented by S08.

James Lopez

Battalion Chief/Forestry and Fire Protection

2025 total comp

$263,871

Sub-department: Forestry
Base pay: $100,859
Overtime: $123,645
Other pay: $39,368
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $263,871
Employment type: Full-Time
Union / bargaining unit: R08
Work county: Riverside
Middle name: F

Source-specific fields

Base Pay: $8,078
Cs/csu: Cs
Position Number: 5423129723635
Salary Total: $8,753
Total Pay: $263,871

James Lopez is a Battalion Chief at Forestry and Fire Protection within Forestry. They work full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $263,871. Their bargaining unit is R08.